FOUNDATIONS | 9 PRINCIPLES

We are building a strong foundation at F9,​ so we can help build your strong foundation.

​Founding our firm in our mid-twenties, we had to be more professional, quicker, and to over deliver compared to our competitors. From there we created a principled firm where every new employee not only learns design, construction, and advanced computer programs, but learns how to respond to client's needs on time, prioritize problems, and boil them down to their fundamental roots to deliver value and substance. Below are our foundational principals

F1 |

Be Brilliant at the basics. Boil the problem down to fundamental truths and reason up from there. Don't push a style, design solutions. Design for substance not style.

F2 |

Model like it gets built. When building a model in Revit, mimic construction. This leads to a better understanding of the construction process, a more true model, and a greater resource for takeoffs, 3D views and value to the client.

F3 |

Training, and learning is a force multiplier. This is part of F9's secret sauce (shhh don’t tell). Everyone who starts at the firm gets trained from the fundamentals up. Access to tutorial videos, resources, and collaboration between team members is unparalleled. ​

F4 |

Communicate! Respond in 24 hours. No one likes waiting in limbo. Respond to all forms of contact within 24 hours even if it is to let them know you are working on it. Then give them a timeline of when you think the issue will be resolved. It is better to resolve problems early rather than let them bite you in the rear.

F5 |

​Serve the client, the contractor, and the city. These three are our focus. When we meet all of their needs, the project goes smoother.

F6 |

​Take extreme ownership. Problems get solved when they are attacked head-on. Take responsibility, communicate, and follow up.

F7 |

Build the world. Creation is hard, city roadblocks are difficult, and construction is no easy feat. At F9 we help our clients build the world knowing the structures we create together could last for centuries. ​

F8 |

Deliver value to be valuable. Ask yourself: what is critical, how can we deliver value? What does the client need to see, how can your drawings help the contractor build the project? What will make the permit review easier for the building official?

F9 |

​Have fun. Life is to short to have a bad attitude. Engage the project and people with a positive attitude.

If you can't remember all of these, start with the basics:Be professional, respond quickly, and over deliver.